Teen admits to his role in attorney's kidnapping

December 14, 2009 7:08 PM

EDINBURG -- An 18-year-old immigrant admitted in court Thursday that he helped plan the abduction of an attorney who had taken him into her home.

Gregorio Ruiz was sentenced to 10 years probation after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated kidnapping.

Weslaco police arrested Ruiz in May after two teens kidnapped him and his lawyer at gunpoint and drove them around for hours while attempting to extract money from her bank account.

Both were released unharmed. But after investigators arrested two 19-year-old suspects for the crime, both implicated Ruiz, according to court documents.

The two alleged abductors — relatives Edward and Juan Carlos Lerma — have each been convicted and are awaiting sentencing hearings later this month.

http://www.themonitor.com/articles/ruiz ... y-old.html